So, you want to be a writer, eh? You enjoy the creative process, and you think you have a knack for coming up with various stories with scintillating plots that grab the reader from the get-go. Well… there are many things you will encounter as a writer that no one ever told you.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I enjoy writing. It’s fun, exciting and who doesn’t like seeing their name on their own book cover? It’s not the writing. It’s all the stuff that comes with the writing that can be a throbbing headache turned into your worst nightmare.
Here are ten off the top of my head I’ve learned the hard way.
- That, as an author, you will do more advertising and marketing than actual writing
- That in between the time you submit your manuscript and actually receive a contract, you will tear all your hair out and go bald and insane because waiting for someone to say you’re good enough to publish is the worst thing ever!
- That as an unknown author, you NEED book reviews but that finding good book reviewers who will actually commit to reading/reviewing your book is just as easy as ‘finding a needle in a haystack’
- That gathering a fan base and creating an ‘author platform’ is not as easy as it seems
- That rejections of your manuscript will feel like personal attacks regardless of what anyone says and that this happens because you are a human being with feelings
- That every rejection of your manuscript will have you questioning whether you should be an author or if your work is good enough
- That endless waiting comes with being an author and it sucks!
- That writing and self-editing take up quite a lot of time and that it’s hard to do when you are juggling a full-time job, a family, are taking care of your older parents and trying to live your own life (if you can find time to do that)
- That some people will actually not want you to succeed or block your efforts and that these ‘people’ are people you know
- That it costs money to write (maintaining a website, advertising costs, promotions, blog tours, etc.)
TK Lawyer 